In the week ending Jan. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial
claims was 588,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised
figure of 585,000. The 4-week moving average was 542,500, an increase of 24,250 from the
previous week's revised average of 518,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6 percent
for the week ending Jan. 17, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate
of 3.4 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during
the week ending Jan. 17 was 4,776,000, an increase of 159,000 from the preceding
week's revised level of 4,617,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,630,000,
an increase of 66,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,563,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted,
totaled 617,289 in the week ending Jan. 24, a decrease of 146,776 from the previous
week. There were 369,944 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.3 percent during the
week ending Jan. 17, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.
The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs
totaled 5,740,996, an increase of 89,879 from the preceding week. A year earlier,
the rate was 2.4 percent and the volume was 3,249,574.

Extended benefits were available in North Carolina, Oregon, and Rhode Island during the week ending Jan. 10.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,838 in the week ending Jan. 17, a decrease of 722 from the prior week. There were 2,221 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 101 from the preceding week.

There were 20,225 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Jan. 10, a decrease of 1,098 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 27,219, an increase of 193 from the prior week.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 17 were in Florida (+6,500), California (+1,826), Puerto Rico (+1,308), Texas (+537), and Massachusetts (+86), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-33,365), North Carolina (-25,516), Georgia (-12,635), New York (-12,432), and Pennsylvania (-10,077).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS

Advance

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

Jan. 24

Jan. 17

Change

Jan. 10

Year

Initial Claims (SA)

588,000

585,000

+3,000

527,000

366,000

Initial Claims
(NSA)

617,289

764,065

-146,776

956,791

369,944

4-Wk Moving Average
(SA)

542,500

518,250

+24,250

519,250

333,750

Advance

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

Jan. 17

Jan. 10

Change

Jan. 3

Year

Ins. Unemployment
(SA)

4,776,000

4,617,000

+159,000

4,515,000

2,703,000

Ins. Unemployment
(NSA)

5,740,996

5,651,117

+89,879

5,855,855

3,249,574

4-Wk Moving Average
(SA)

4,630,000

4,563,500

+66,500

4,502,250

2,702,250

Ins. Unemployment
Rate (SA)2

3.6%

3.4%

+0.2

3.4%

2.0%

Ins. Unemployment Rate
(NSA)2

4.3%

4.2%

+0.1

4.4%

2.4%

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

Jan. 17

Jan. 10

Change

Year

Federal Employees

1,838

2,560

-722

1,549

Newly Discharged Veterans

2,221

2,322

-101

1,742

PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS
(UNADJUSTED)

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

Jan. 10

Jan. 3

Change

Year

Federal Employees

20,225

21,323

-1,098

17,969

Newly Discharged Veterans

27,219

27,026

+193

24,423

Railroad RetirementBoard

7,000

7,000

0

4,000

Extended Benefits

12,472

3,103

+9,369

1

EUC 2008

1,718,686

2,091,706

-373,020

0

FOOTNOTESSA - Seasonally Adjusted DataNSA -
Not Seasonally Adjusted Data1 - Prior year is comparable
to most recent data.2 - Most recent week used covered employment of 133,886,830 as denominator.

UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED 01/17/2009

STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

State

Change

State Supplied Comment

MI

-33,365

Almost all industries posted decreases as seasonal shutdowns
(primarily in the automobile industry) came to an end.